


everybody knows that you love me baby

by adamantine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith and Shiro are embarrassing and not discreet: the fic, M/M, feels weird tagging that many characters but it's true
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 20:26:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15893508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamantine/pseuds/adamantine
Summary: “When did Captain Shirogane and Kogane start dating?”She expects a juicy story. Maybe a confession in the middle of battle. Maybe Kogane proclaiming his eternal love over Shirogane’s lifeless body. Something big and dramatic for sure, befitting the Garrison’s power couple.Instead, Lance sputters and falls out of his chair, Pidge's eyebrows shoot up so high they almost leave her face entirely, and Hunk's jaw drops so far down Nadia is concerned it’s genuinely become unhinged.Or, the one where everybody finally figures out Keith and Shiro are dating.





	everybody knows that you love me baby

**Author's Note:**

> My brain: I want to write angst!!!!!!  
> My hands: No.

i.

Nadia is the one that brings it up.

The MFE pilots and the Paladins are in the Garrison lounge, relaxing after a grueling day of training between the MFEs, Atlas, and Voltron. The exhaustion they feel is less physical than it is mental. The simulations the Garrison comes up with test them to their limits and today’s simulation was the worst type: a no-win scenario. She’s not sure who designed the simulation but she’s deeply concerned they might not have a soul.

Conspicuously absent from the lounge are Voltron's leader and Captain Shirogane. Kogane is supposedly helping Captain Shirogane prepare for a meeting. It’s a routine meeting regarding supply routes scheduled for Friday. It’s Monday. It’s obvious to her they just want to spend time together. Alone.

Nadia is kind of curious about the two of them. No one talks about their relationship which seems odd in a place like the Garrison where gossip roams freely. She knows every pathetic detail of Lance’s slow courtship of Allura. Pidge and Hunk are merciless in discussing it.

Nadia decides to fish for gossip. “When did Captain Shirogane and Kogane start dating?”

She expects a juicy story. Maybe a confession in the middle of battle. Maybe Kogane proclaiming his eternal love over Shirogane’s lifeless body. Something big and dramatic for sure, befitting the Garrison’s power couple.

Instead, Lance sputters and falls out of his chair, Pidge's eyebrows shoot up so high they almost leave her face entirely, and Hunk's jaw drops so far down Nadia is concerned it’s genuinely become unhinged.

Only Allura seems to actually be contemplating her question.

“There was a moment—after Shiro woke up—where I was certain Keith was going to kiss him, and it seemed Shiro thought so too.”

If Nadia stunned them into silence, Allura’s words are a call to action.

“Wait really? Are you sure?” Pidge adjusts her glasses as if it’s her eyes that can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“Hold on, did you say Keith was going to kiss Shiro?” Hunk looks around the room for confirmation. “Did she say that? You heard that right?”

“Woah, woah, woah.” Lance shakes his head. “I’m sorry did you say Keith was going to kiss Shiro? Keith, kissing Shiro? Keith? Are we talking about the same Keith?”

“It’s really not that surprising,” Pidge says.

“I’m sorry, but Keith kissing anyone is surprising!” Lance screeches.

“Uh, I’m not saying what Allura thinks she saw is actually what happened—no offense Allura—but it’s not that surprising? I mean, yeah, I’d be surprised if they were together, but I also wouldn’t be that surprised?” Hunk says reasonably.

“Uh, speak for yourself!” Lance is on the verge of a breakdown. It’s worse than the time Allura told him his favorite action movie sucked. “There’s no way those two are together. Nuh-uh. First of all, does Keith even like guys?”

Nadia almost pities Lance. Every single one of the Paladins and MFE pilots, and even a few onlookers that have been eavesdropping look at Lance like he’s said the Earth is flat.

Griffin is especially unimpressed with Lance's obliviousness. “Keith definitely likes guys.”

“How would you know?” Lance scoffs.

Griffin crosses his arms in his favorite haughty asshole pose. It’s an obvious a defense mechanism, but Lance doesn’t pick up on it. “Trust me, I know.”

There’s definitely a story there. She’s going to wring it out of him later.

“What does that mean?” Lance asks.

Griffin raises an eyebrow.

“Wait have you two—no—nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. I’m not doing this. Keith and Shiro aren’t like that. End of discussion.”

“They seem close,” Leifsdottir says, “Their battle styles sync well which suggests a certain physical compatibility.”

“Their battles styles do not ‘suggest’ anything!” Lance’s voice reaches new octaves.

Allura puts on her best _Lance, stop overreacting_ face. “You must admit Lance, the bond between them _is_ remarkably strong.”

“Look, I’m not denying that part. Keith _definitely_ loves Shiro and for reasons unknown, Shiro loves him too, but there’s a difference between loving someone and being _in love_ with someone. They’ve got like, a brotherly thing going on.”

Nadia thinks back to Kogane and Captain Shirogane’s interactions and tries seeing them in a platonic light. It’s not  _impossible_ to see things that way. Maybe she has been jumping to conclusions.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure they want to bone,” says Kinkade.

 

ii.

Lance tries to forget what happened in the lounge. The MFE pilots don’t know Shiro and Keith the way he did and Allura is Altean, she doesn’t get how platonic relationships on Earth work. Pidge and Hunk are harder to explain away, so he just tells himself they’re wrong.

So what if he’s starting to notice that Shiro’s gaze lingers on Keith a little longer and lower than necessary? Or that Keith preens whenever Shiro says his name? Shiro’s just platonically checking out Keith’s ass (nothing weird about that) and Keith just platonically loves to listen to Shiro say his name (who doesn’t like Shiro saying their name?).

Lance is happy to keep up the delusion for the rest of his life. There’s a reality out there where he does and he wishes he could convince Allura to open up a rift to send him to it because in this reality he stupidly decides to drop by Shiro’s office one afternoon to catch up. 

He doesn’t make an appointment to see Shiro because that would be weird. Shiro might be a big deal in the Garrison these days, but he’s still  _Shiro_ to Lance, not _Captain Shirogane_ , humanity’s favorite son. Lance is his friend, not someone Shiro needs to schedule into his calendar to see.

Lance knocks on Shiro’s door instead of bursting in because he’s not completely devoid of manners, no matter what anyone else says about him.

The door unlocks with an electronic beep.

Lance peers into Shiro’s office and sees Keith sitting at a table, messing around on a tablet—probably programming battle simulations for the Garrison. He’s shockingly good at it. It’s just another way he’s disturbingly like his mother.  
  
“Hey,” Lance says, “is Shiro around?” 

Keith's eyes are a little unfocused when he glances up at Lance. “He stepped out for a moment. Had to meet with Iverson.”

“Is it okay if I wait?” Lance doesn’t know why he’s asking Keith. It’s not  _his_ office and he’s certainly not Shiro’s secretary. 

Keith just nods and goes back to the tablet. There’s a slight color to his face like he’s running a fever.

“You okay?” It’s a testament to his growth as a person that he finds he’s actually a little worried for Keith.

“Huh?”

“You look a little out of it.”

Keith’s fever seems to increase by a few degrees. “Just tired.”

Lance decides to drop it. He finds a comfortable but ugly Garrison orange sofa to sit on while he waits for Shiro. He will think back to this moment and wonder why he decided to pick that sofa in particular and not any other spot in Shiro’s office. Like Shiro’s desk or windowsill or rug or potted plant. Anything but the sofa with a perfect view of Keith’s lap.

Shiro, it turns out, is in the room with them. At least, a part of him is. A very large part of him. And— _oh god, what is it doing?_

If Lance had any sense of self-preservation he would look away, maybe stare at his phone and play some mobile games. Unfortunately, Lance’s self-preservation instincts have decided now is the time to go on vacation and instead he stares at Shiro’s obscenely large, disembodied hand as it rubs all over Keith’s lap like a house cat, and not the hand belonging to a man Lance thought was “cool” and “heroic” but now can longer be associated with those words. Not after this.

Oversized fingers lazily stroke Keith’s upper thighs, making the fabric of Keith’s pants bunch up. Keith's thighs twitch. The movement is so slight it’s almost unnoticeable. Almost. Unfortunately, both Lance and the hand are the perceptive types. Lance doesn’t understand how a floating, prosthetic hand can look smug, but it does. 

Lance wants to look away but he can’t. It’s just _so huge._ It brings attention to itself. Lance is pretty sure Shiro’s fingers can wrap around the thickest part of Keith’s thighs, possibly even both thighs if he tries hard enough. He really, really hopes Shiro’s hand doesn’t try. At least not in front of Lance. 

He jumps out of his seat and nearly falls on his face when the door to Shiro’s office slides open. God, he’s never been so happy to see Shiro before. He can’t wait to hear Shiro’s perfectly reasonable explanation as to why his hand is trying to push Keith’s legs apart. Maybe it’s malfunctioning. Yeah.

“Keith, sorry I—oh. Hi, Lance.” Ten minutes ago Lance might have been hurt by Shiro’s obvious disappointment. Now all he can think about is how Shiro’s hand does not go flying back to Shiro’s body and instead mimics its owner’s annoyance at being interrupted. 

_Interrupted from what!?_ Lance refuses to answer the question.

“Hey, uh. I was just stopping by. But, uh. I got a message.” He tries to remember the name of someone that might message him. “From. Allura. So. I gotta. Go.” Every single word is a struggle. The hand is making no move to leave Keith’s lap; its fingers are dangerously close to a part of Keith that Lance never, ever, ever, ever, wants to think about again.

He rushes out of Shiro’s office.

He’s scheduling an appointment next time.

 

iii.

Allura is on her way back to the Garrison when she sees a familiar crop of silver hair shining in the evening lights. Even among the multitude of aliens mingling about the small downtown area near the Garrison, Shiro stands out with his hair. It also helps that he’s so tall, easily towering over everyone.

It takes her a few moments to process that Shiro is not in fact, that tall.

The crowd parts and she sees the reason for his height. He’s sitting on Keith’s shoulders. It reminds Allura of sitting on her father’s shoulder as a child, forcing him to carry her around the castle. The difference is that Shiro is very much not a child and Keith is definitely not his parent.

Shiro giggles at something Keith says and it’s one of the weirder things she’s witnessed since coming to Earth. It’s up there with bees (nothing about them makes sense to her) and parrots (Lance has a parrot that mimics him so well she thought it  _was_ him tragically transformed somehow; Lance’s family has not let her live this down). Despite the initial weirdness, seeing Shiro so relaxed brings a smile to her face.

She follows after them, meaning to say hello. Keith weaves through the crowd with surprising deftness—Shiro is not an easy passenger; he swings his legs dangerously and keeps grabbing Keith’s hair.

“Stop that.” There’s no bite to Keith’s words.

“Make me.” Shiro’s face is a bright and merry red. 

A small battle ensues as Keith’s struggles to hold down Shiro’s legs. Keith grows increasingly annoyed while Shiro giggles like Keith’s frustration is the cutest thing in the world. In the end, Keith wins, or possibly Shiro simply loses interest. At any rate, Shiro seems content to let Keith hold his legs still.

“You’re drunk,” Keith chides.

“I’m not. Only had two shots.” His words slur together.

“Yeah, two shots of something that’s not meant for humans.”

“You had, what, four? Five? If ‘nyone’s drunk, it’s you.”

Keith makes a motion that would probably be a shrug if Shiro wasn’t on his shoulders. “Galra genes.”

“No fair,” Shiro whines. He pokes Keith’s cheek with the floating arm.

“Stop that.”

Shiro takes that as a challenge. He pokes and prods Keith with his floating arm, knowing Keith is already preoccupied with the challenge that is walking through a crowd with an adult man on his shoulders.

“I’m going to drop you.”

“You wouldn’t,” Shiro says, but he recalls his arm anyway to where it might truly rest if it was attached to anything. “You’d never drop me.” He says it with marvel in his voice, as if he’s just uncovered a secret. “You held on Keith. I remember.”

Keith freezes and Allura almost bumps into them. She ducks behind some bushes. The action isn’t as inconspicuous as she wants it to be, but neither of them notices her.

“Why didn’t you let go?” Shiro’s tone is pleading.

“You know why.” Keith’s voice is soft and for Shiro only. Allura feels like she’s intruding but there’s nowhere for her to go. She’s trapped. She can only see bits and pieces of them through the bushes, but somehow that’s worse. She’s too aware of all the emotions their voices carry.

“Tell me.” Shiro’s words stumble out like he’s afraid of the answer, yet desperately needs to hear it.

“Keith.” Shiro puts the entire weight of their history in Keith’s name.

“You won’t even remember in the morning.” Keith’s voice pushes Shiro away, but so lightly it’s easy for Shiro to pull him back.

“I will.” Allura believes him. He doesn’t sound that drunk anymore.

Allura covers her ears. She doesn’t need to hear Keith’s answer. His words belong to Shiro. She watches and waits until they’re gone to stand up. She brushes out a handful of leaves from her hair.

She’s not sure if Shiro and Keith are keeping their relationship private or if it’s so new they haven’t had the chance to say anything yet, but when they do…

…she’s going to rub it in Lance’s face.

She was totally right. That was  _so_ an almost-kiss.

 

iv.

James has an hour to kill before he needs to meet with someone named “Nissan Rogue” (7’3”, likes “Ancient Galran Poetry,” “knives,” “seeing the universe,” and “cats.”). It’s not a date. Sure, they’re meeting for dinner first, but that’s only because jumping straight to bed with a seven-foot tall alien is a bad idea. Not because James is opposed to the concept—he really, really isn’t—but because it’s entirely too possible “Nissan” is one of the aliens that hang out with Keith and he can’t make that mistake. Not again.

As he meanders through town he stops to look into the window of a jewelry store. It’s mostly made of Earth items but like every store these days, more and more alien goods are making their way into it. Some of the jewelry is clearly made for non-humans, pieces too big or too small for the average human body.

As he stares a display of pendants a pair of familiar eyes meets his.

It’s Captain Shirogane.

Just his damn luck.

James foolishly enters the jewelers instead of politely nodding and walking away. Shirogane is suspiciously nervous when James greets him. There’s still a chance for James to bolt out of there before entangling himself into things he really, really shouldn’t, but his mouth betrays him.

“You here to buy something? A present for someone?”

A slight blush creeps into Shirogane’s cheeks. James is both fascinated and repulsed by it.

“I want to get something for Keith’s birthday.” Shiroganes’s voice drips with a sickly, sweet fondness. The blush deepens. It’s appalling. 

“Keith’s birthday is in October.” _It’s not currently October,_ he doesn’t add. It’s not even close to October.

“You know,”—Shirogane makes a vague gesture that James is sure would only make sense to Keith—“shopping ahead. Busy schedule and all.”

“Right.” James sees an opportunity to exit. He can still salvage this situation. “Well, I really should—“

“—Mr. Shirogane? The engravings are done.”

He’s going to remember Shirogane’s expression for the rest of his life. The blush from earlier is no longer a blush: Shiroganes’s face is simply red now. That’s simply its new state of being.

“Uh,” Shirogane says eloquently.

James isn’t nice enough to throw Shirogane the lifeline he’s desperately reaching out for. If he has to suffer through this, so does Shirogane.

Shirogane decides silence is the best option, or perhaps no longer knows how to form words, and goes to pick up a set of rings. They’re beautiful but simple. James can’t see any engravings—it must be inside the band—but he’s sure it’s something sappily romantic. That or they simply say “Uh.” It all depends on if Shirogane was able to write down his request or had to say it out loud.

“Oh, is this the lucky man?” the jeweler asks.

Shirogane blinks.

James blinks.

An eternity passes. James looks into the abyss and the abyss looks back. He isn’t James Griffin anymore. James Griffin dies in a jewelry store on a post-alien invaded Earth. He is a husk of a man. An empty shell.

“No! This isn’t the man. This is just someone I bumped into.” 

_Just someone you bumped into?_ That’s what James is to Shirogane? Unbelievable. 

“Oh.”

“Well, we know each other.” There, that’s more like it. He forgives Shirogane for an entire second. “But no, he’s not the one. I mean, he’s not the one for me. I’m sure he’s the one for someone else.” James is going to deck Shirogane, superior officer be damned, but before he can Shirogane continues, “The one for me—he’s beautiful. He has this fierce beauty you can’t look away from. He’s loyal and devoted to the people he cares about. He’s easily the best pilot in the whole universe. And so damn strong. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have met him. He’s—”

“—I actually should get going,” James interrupts. “I’ll see you around, Captain.”

Shirogane sighs in relief. And then panics. 

“I—this is supposed to be a surprise. I mean, if it even happens. I’m just buying these to have them. Just in case.”

“Just in case you want to propose?”

Shirogane doesn’t answer.

He doesn’t need to.

“I promise, I won’t tell Keith.” James prays he never has to have a conversation with Keith about Shirogane. He doubts that prayer will be answered, but he still makes it.

“Thank you.” Shirogane sounds genuinely grateful. It looks like he wants to say more and James grows concerned that if he stays any longer, Shirogane will begin another speech on how perfect Keith is.

“See you around, Shirogane.”

James gives him a mock salute and leaves.

He checks the time on his phone. He still has some time left.

" _Nissan" better not be a fucking Blade of Marmora member._

Life can only fuck with him so much on one day, right?

 

v.

Pidge loves Kosmo dearly. He’s pretty much the coolest pet in the universe (though she’ll never say that aloud out of respect for her dog’s feelings) but at this moment she kind of wishes he wasn’t a teleporting cosmic wolf. Why couldn’t have Keith gotten a normal wolf as a pet? No, it had to be one with the ability to zap anything it wanted out of sight.

It’s a nice, productive afternoon. She’s scarfing down a bag of potato chips and working on a way to incorporate some of the Galra tech Sendak has left behind into the Garrison’s defenses when Kosmo poofs into existence next to her.

She gives his ear a nice scratch before going back to her work.

Kosmo whines, distraught that the scratching ended so fast.

“I’m a little busy right now, buddy.”

Wrong thing to say. Kosmo doesn’t like being ignored.

Kosmo jumps onto the table and snatches the Galra blaster she’s been dismantling and winks out of existence.

_Oh great._ Now there’s an armed cosmic wolf loose on the Garrison. Iverson was going to kill her.

Before she can sound the alarm, Kosmo poofs back, stolen blaster nowhere to be seen, and wags his tail at her, clearly expecting praise for removing the pesky item that was distracting her.

Pidge sighs.

He’s just so damn cute she’s already forgiven him.

“Where did you take the dangerous, liable-to-meltdown, half-dismantled Galra blaster, Kosmo?”

He barks and rolls over.

Pidge gives into her base instincts and rubs his belly.

A few hours later and Pidge finishes building a Kosmo tracker of sorts. Kosmo’s teleporting gives off a unique signature, at least unique on Earth (she’s not sure it can distinguish Kosmo specifically from another cosmic wolf). It doesn’t tell her where Kosmo is, but it does tell her where he has been. She’s not sure how long the residual energy signature from his teleportation lingers, but judging from the lights on her screen it must last at least a few days, if not weeks. That or Kosmo has been a very busy wolf; there are traces of Kosmo all over the Garrison.

The more Kosmo has teleported to and from a place, the brighter it is on her tracker. It paints a clear picture of Kosmo’s favorite places and people. Keith’s quarters are completely maxed out in brightness, as is, Pidge notes with amusement, Shiro’s quarters and his office. There’s a bright spot in the kitchen that Pidge is pretty certain is the freezer room, and she suspects she’s just solved the mystery of who keeps stealing slabs of frozen meat from the Garrison’s kitchens without appearing on any security footage. Her own workshop has a nice glow to it, as does Hunk’s, and a section of the Garrison that Krolia tends to stay in also has Kosmo’s telltale teleportation residue despite it being at least a week or so since she’s last been on base.

Pidge searches the screen, looking for a place that Kosmo might take a blaster. She doubts he’s brought it to Keith or Shiro. It seems more likely he’s hidden it somewhere. But where?

There’s a spot that’s glowing bright enough that Kosmo must visit it semi-frequently. It’s in an abandoned part of the Garrison; there’s no reason for Kosmo to visit it that often. She pulls up blueprints of the Garrison. It’s a storage closet, or at least used to be one. Now she’s pretty sure it’s Kosmo’s room.

Kosmo’s room is in an older part of the Garrison that uses real locks, not the kind she can hack, but Pidge is nothing if not resourceful. She finds a lock picking tutorial online that matches the exact type of lock on the door and unlocks the door in minutes.

When she turns on the light she is immediately overwhelmed.

“Wow, you’ve been a busy cosmic wolf.”

Kosmo’s wags his tail proudly.

There’s no way around it: Kosmo is a kleptomaniac and probably needs therapy to control his disease. She immediately spots three of her favorite shirts, her childhood teddy bear, and a sneaker she’s been looking for since last week. And that’s just  _her_ stuff. She’s hardly Kosmo’s only target. She recognizes one of Hunk’s headbands, Lance’s monogrammed bathrobe, a treadmill from the Garrison’s gym, Keith’s fingerless gloves, a trophy that says “Takashi Shirogane” on it, and a bottle of bourbon she’s pretty sure her mom gave to Coran.

Most abundant though are socks. Piles and piles of socks. Every sock that has ever gone missing on planet Earth is here in Kosmo’s room.

Finding the missing blaster was going to be a _blast_ (an imaginary Matt high fives her for the pun).

Pidge sorts Kosmo’s stolen goods by owner. What she doesn’t recognize, she throws onto the treadmill. She’ll dump it all in the Garrison’s lost and found later (which doesn’t exist yet but thanks to Kosmo now will).

Luckily, she finds the blaster early on and takes it apart a bit further, preventing it from possibly going into a nuclear meltdown in the future. Not so luckily is that it isn’t the only weapon Kosmo has stolen. In fact, Kosmo has stolen enough weapons to start a career as an arms dealer. She makes a separate section for weapons in the far, far, corner of the room.

She picks up a leather-bound book and searches for a title but doesn’t find one. _A journal?_ She opens it to check if its owner has written their name inside and finds it’s not a journal at all, but a sketchbook.

The first few pages are nothing but desert landscapes. Pidge doesn’t get out much so she doesn’t recognize any of it beyond guessing they’re probably sketches of the desert around the Garrison. They’re hyper-realistic and despite not having color in them she can see the reds and oranges in the artist’s rock formations anyway.

A familiar hoverbike appears and Pidge gets an idea of who the sketchbook belongs to. That feeling is confirmed when sketches of the lions appear, rendered with such accuracy Pidge has to wonder how much time Keith has spent staring at them.

Slowly, people start to appear. Hunk, Lance, Allura, Coran, and even herself start to dot the pages. Not every sketch is lifelike. There’s more than a few sketches of Coran making silly faces and some not-so-flattering doodles of Lance. There are places Pidge recognizes and some she doesn’t. It’s around then that random Galra start appearing. It takes Pidge a while before she realizes these are Blade members unmasked. She’s never seen Blade members look so... casual. Even weirder, Keith manages to make some of them look kind of adorable. Deadly space ninjas shouldn’t look that cute.

Krolia and Kosmo start making appearances and Pidge has to smile out how well Keith captures Kosmo’s personality. Before long she hits the present—sketches of the Garrison, of the MFE pilots, of Atlas. Voltron nuzzles Atlas in one sketch and she would laugh if Keith hadn’t made Voltron do that just a few days ago.

She reaches blank pages and frowns. There’s a notable absence in the sketchbook that makes her wonder if it really is Keith’s sketchbook. She flips absently through the sketchbook, checking to see if she’s missed anything and stops because oh—never mind, _this is definitely Keith’s sketchbook._ _  
_

The sketchbook is actually divided into two parts. The first half she’s already gone through, filled with a variety of people, places, and things, and a second half solely dedicated to one person.

That person is Shiro of course.

The first are of Shiros before Kerberos, his hair still dark. Sometimes in his old undercut, sometimes not. Shiro in the Garrison uniform, Shiro in a leather jacket, Shiro in a tank top. In one sketch Shiro is draped over a hoverbike, smiling. There are several pages dedicated to Shiro’s hands.

When the Shiro after Kerberos starts to appear there are fewer smiles, but those smiles have a different intensity than before.

She gets to a page that makes her freeze. It’s Shiro with long, unkempt hair. No, not Shiro—the clone. He looks vulnerable, lost even and it makes her feel strange. She only saw him briefly like this before he retreated to hide from everyone but Keith. Pidge can’t look at this section, at the Shiro that was and wasn’t Shiro.

She skips ahead and doesn’t stop until she finds white-haired Shiro. The Galra attachment on his shoulder makes her wince. She doesn’t know how he managed with it attached. It’s painfully bulky and awkward. She’s relieved when it’s replaced by the floating arm. So is Keith it seems. He sketches the floating arm in perfect detail, from every angle.

She’s nearly at the end of the sketchbook. She almost closes it—she loves Shiro but she can only stand to see so many sketches of him without getting bored. She doesn’t though. She keeps going.

If Pidge ever invents time travel it will be to come back to this moment. She’ll turn back time and close the sketchbook, add it to the pile of Keith’s things—on top of a pair of leather pants she’s 75% sure (okay 65% sure) is his (but even if they’re not, they soon will be)—and the timeline will be reset and the memory of the next few pages will no longer haunt her until her dying day.

Pidge is an adult. She knows she doesn’t look like an adult (or always act like one) but she definitely entered into Official Adulthood at some point in space. But being an adult doesn’t change the fundamental fact that Pidge just isn’t interested in well, certain activities, and quite frankly tends to forget about them entirely. So it’s not her fault she doesn’t realize she’s entering dangerous territory in Keith’s sketchbook.

At first, she thinks Shiro is ill. His face is flushed in most of the sketches—like he has a fever—and there’s a languid, disheveled look in the rest. The poses are a little strange for a sick person, but who is she to judge how Shiro handles the flu or whatever. Shiro with his eyes half-closed might be a Shiro in pain. Shiro with his lips parted might be having difficulty breathing. A lot of the Shiro’s seem to be lying down, which suggests a Shiro in bed.

In hindsight, that most of these Shiros were shirtless should have been a dead giveaway, but at that moment she barely notices.

It’s not until she reaches a page that shows, in loving detail, more of Shiro than she has ever seen—has ever wanted to see, and now knows for certain Keith has seen—that her brain supplies the context of the previous sketches.

She shrieks and throws the sketchbook across the room; it knocks over a garden gnome in an old-fashioned spacesuit.

Kosmo sniffs at the knocked over gnome, as if trying to figure out why it’s offended her.

She tries to unremember what she’s seen but it’s proving difficult. It was a big… drawing.

“Ugh. Kosmo, why can’t your dad take photos of his boyfriend and keep them safely locked away on his phone, like a normal person? Please tell me why.”

Her anguish just makes Kosmo trot over and lick her face.

When Pidge drops off Keith and Shiro’s missing stuff, she can’t look them in the eyes.

 

vi.

Hunk isn’t trying to be nosy. Honest. It’s just Keith and Shiro are his friends. And who wouldn’t want to know if their friends are dating each other? It’s a pretty basic thing to know about friends.

He knows the mature thing is to just ask them but what if they’re not dating? What if by asking he spooks them? Sets back their courtship by years? They’re a delicate pair. One minute they act like they’ve been married for years and then the next they’re totally normal platonic friends. Okay, maybe not “normal” exactly—there’s always a lot more touching and saying each other’s names like it’s their favorite word—but close enough. They’ve always been like that. It’s part of the problem. It’s completely impossible to tell if they’ve actually confessed their feelings yet and Hunk isn’t going to ruin this for them. He doesn’t need that on his conscience.

So he decides to suss out the information from the one person that might actually know the truth: Krolia.

Krolia kind of terrifies him if he’s being honest. It’s not like he thinks she’ll ever deliberately hurt him. It’s just—she’s dangerous in the same way the sun is. Sure, when you’re on Earth the sun is a friendly face in the sky, but if you go to the surface of the sun you will die immediately. You won’t even get to the surface actually. You’ll die way before that. Okay, even on Earth looking at the sun might blind you and or give you skin cancer from prolonged exposure. But compared to instant death? It’s way safer being millions of miles away from it.

Tracking down Krolia isn’t easy. She’s not always on Earth for starters. And even when she is, she isn’t necessarily at the Garrison. It takes a while until he finally has a chance to corner her. She’s in the cafeteria eating a parfait, which makes her look a little less like she can kill a man with the spoon in her hand, which gives him the courage to sit at her table.

“Um. Hi, Mrs. Keith.” He’s lived a good life. He hopes Krolia can make his death-by-spoon go by quickly (she probably can).

“Hello, Hunk.” Looking at Krolia’s face too closely is always a little weird. She looks way too much like Keith. It’s not just that their features that are nearly identical, it’s their matching expressions of judgment, disdain, contempt, disapproval, etc. that really get to him.

“I have a question about Galra tech.” Not technically a lie. He has a lot of questions about Galra tech.

“Can it wait?” Oh man, Keith gave Lance that exact same look last week when Lance interrupted a conversation he was having with Shiro. Krolia is a big fan of parfaits it seems.

“Actually, it’s about Keith.”

Keith’s name acts like a magic word. Krolia no longer looks like she’s seconds away from impaling him on a plastic spoon.

“Keith and Galra tech? Galra tech is designed to react to almost any trace of Galra blood. It needs to as, despite the push for blood purity, the Galra have always intermingled with other races. Even the ‘purest’ Galra may have traces of the old tribes of Daibazaal. Those that weren’t killed were assimilated into the Galra.”

“That’s fascinating,” Hunk says, and he means it. Krolia would probably make a way better tutor than Dayak. She’s at least 1% less likely to kill or maim him on account of him being friends with Keith. “But that’s not what I meant. I don’t have a question about Galra tech. Just about Keith. Well, about Keith and Shiro.”

“Keith and Shiro?”

There’s no good way to ask the question so Hunk blurts it out all at once like his life depends on it. “Are Keith and Shiro dating? Like are they together? It’s just so unclear. I don’t want to ask because what if they’re not? And by asking it, it makes them deny having feelings for each other and then suddenly they’re caught in a cycle of pining, both convinced the other doesn’t return their feelings?” 

Krolia’s expression is the time Keith watches Lance have a breakdown over what color shirt to wear to ask Allura to visit his parent's house. Not the shirt to wear during the visit (that’s a separate breakdown—Keith isn’t there for that one), just the shirt to wear to _ask_ her about the visit.

“When I was in the quantum abyss, I learned about my son’s past and future.” Krolia eats her parfait as she talks. “Some of it he told me, some of it I saw for myself. Two years is a long time. Yet, I feel as if I’ve known Shiro for even longer.”

_Aw, how sweet_ , Hunk thinks.

Krolia jabs the parfait with more force than a parfait could possibly need. “At times, it was like Shiro was right there with us. Did you know Shiro’s favorite constellation is Orion? I do. I even know he’ll name a cat after it. What about Shiro’s favorite movie? Book? Sports teams? What about the foods he loves and the foods he hates? His childhood crush on Koichi Wakata? I can recite his favorite poem in its entirety. It’s not a short poem.”

“Uh,” Hunk says, for once at a loss for words.

Krolia finishes her parfait. She stares at the empty glass wistfully. “I’m eternally grateful for everything Shiro has done for Keith and everything he will do for Keith. He’s a singular existence in Keith’s life. Do you understand?”

Hunk nods. He’s certain if he speaks he might set off another landmine.

“Good. Then I recommend you either ask them yourself or wait until they’re ready to tell you.”

She gets up and leaves a properly chastised Hunk behind at the table. Oh man, it was kind of rude to go behind Keith’s back and try to get information about his love life from his mom.

Then he realizes she actually did answer his question.

_Wait until they’re ready to tell you._

That sounds an awful lot like they’re already together.

He totally called it.

 

vii.

Ina Leifsdottir does not like working out. It’s not that she dislikes being physically active—she wouldn’t be a fighter pilot if that bothered her. It just gets so boring working out with same old equipment surrounded by the same old people. Ina has a near perfect memory, which means repeating the same routine over and over again is mind-numbingly boring.

Luckily, team Voltron shakes things up. She’s grateful they’ve not only liberated planet Earth from Sendak’s fleet but are now also providing entertainment for her workouts.

Keith and Captain Shirogane are team Voltron’s most frequent gym visitors, which doesn’t surprise her. They both look like they spend a lot of time in a gym. What does surprise her is how little time they spend using any of the gym’s equipment. Aside from a little warming up, they usually make a beeline for the training rooms to spar.

They’ll fight anyone that’s willing. For Keith, that means masked Marmora members and the occasional brave officer or idiotic cadet. Fewer people volunteer to fight Shirogane. Maybe it’s because he’s  _Takashi Shirogane_ , captain of the Atlas, hero of Earth, Galaxy Garrison Golden Boy, or, more likely, it’s because Shirogane doesn’t look easy to beat like Keith (incorrectly) does.

Whenever either of them spars she finds herself sticking to equipment that gives her a clear view of the show. She watches their fights entirely out of a sense of scientific discovery. She’s clinically analyzing their fighting styles for, uh, research.

She’s definitely not ogling. Ina does not ogle.

Her favorite is when they fight each other. There’s a beauty and viciousness to it that comes from trusting each other so much. They don’t fight to prove anything. They fight to make each other better. Their “matches” come in two styles: one that rewards speed and one that rewards strength, allowing both of them a chance to win. While Keith shines in speed and Shirogane shines in strength, they are more evenly matched than they look; no fight is a foregone conclusion.

Shirogane is lightning fast for someone his size and his untethered arm is a menace in speed and strength matches. It’s almost impossible for most fighters to counter, but Keith isn’t most fighters. He’s supernaturally fast, making it difficult for Shirogane to catch him, even with the ability to fling his arm across the room. Keith’s speed at times makes it seem like he knows what his opponents are going to do before they even do. Rizavi thinks Keith can just sense things, but Ina has a more rational explanation. Keith must somehow unconsciously calculate probabilities and move according to the most likely outcome. Rizavi says “unconsciously calculating” is just another way to say “senses things.”

Regardless of how he does it, Keith is lucky for this gift because Shirogane’s speed _really_ can’t be underestimated. When they fight battles of speed, it can take all of Ina’s concentration to track what’s going on. It’s even worse when Keith fights with the wolf. He pops in and out of existence and never misses a beat. It’s disorientating to watch. She can’t imagine how difficult it is to actually pull off.

Keith is strong too, much stronger than he has any right being. It’s not Altean levels of strength—Ina learns of their strength when Kinkade keeps adding weight plates to Romelle’s bar to figure out how much she can lift (it’s a lot)—but it’s not human levels either. Shirogane can’t let his guard down around him. His prosthetic arm gives him an advantage, but it’s not a trump card. Not with Keith.

It’s a match of strength she’s watching today. The gym is almost entirely empty and she’s the only one that can see Shirogane and Keith. Shirogane lunges for Keith, but Keith is expecting that and moves out of the way. He tries to trip Shirogane, and in the process loses sight of Shirogane’s right arm. It grabs him and while he’s preoccupied with neutralizing it, Shirogane takes him down and pins him to the floor with the full weight of his body. Keith struggles underneath him; he doesn’t give up easily. Shirogane holds Keith’s wrists together with his right hand.

Ina can’t hear Keith, but she can see his lips move. He says something that leaves Shirogane dazed and despite being the one pinned down, Keith starts smirking. Shirogane lets go of Keith’s wrists and Keith springs up to grab him.

Ina assumes at first Keith is taking advantage of Shirogane’s dazed state to beat him in the match. Keith is an underhanded fighter, it’s not without precedent for him to lull his opponents into a false sense of security. Her assumption, however, goes flying off the treadmill—along with herself—when Keith pulls Shirogane down to kiss him.

She stares at the ceiling, slightly worried the noise of her fall might have caught their attention. She waits until by her calculations enough time has passed that if Shirogane and Keith had noticed her, they would have confronted her already. She sits up to look at the training room. The training room that, while mostly soundproof, has glass windows. Very transparent glass windows.

Keith leans over Shirogane, their positions reversed from before. Shirogane’s right hand gently brushes Keith’s scar, an act that’s already overly intimate, but is even more so when it’s accompanied by an unhurried makeout session.

_They know they're in a public place, right?_ Ina could understand if they were caught up in the moment, ripping off clothes and fumbling for some skin to skin contact, but they’re not. Every kiss is slow and deliberate, with frequent stops to soulfully stare into each other’s eyes.

She can’t believe this. Anyone can see them. She  _does_ see them! Should she go over there to tap on the glass, remind them that they’re in a gym, in the middle of sparring, and not in their own bedroom? She seriously considers it, but they’re so caught up in each other they likely won’t notice if she body slams into the window.

So instead she gets up and goes to find a spot in the gym where she doesn’t have to watch her commanding officer and the leader of Voltron, saviors of humanity, pilots of giant robots, making out on the floor like two lovesick teenagers that have just discovered they really, really, like kissing each other.

She’s happy to at least to confirm one theory: they do appear to be physically compatible.

 

viii.

Ryan tries to mind his own business, he really does. He's not avoiding Shirogane and Kogane but he’s not exactly actively seeking them out either. That's what makes it so galling when they suddenly seem to be everywhere he turns, lurking and flirting in every corner of the Garrison. It’s partially his fault. He appreciates the quiet, peaceful places of the Garrison, away from prying eyes and running mouths, and so do they.

He finds them in the Garrison library, quietly reading. It should be easy to ignore them but Kogane is practically sitting in Shirogane’s lap and it’s a little too much for Ryan to deal with after a day of hearing “Captain” in Kogane’s teasing voice through comms.

He runs into them, almost literally, during a morning jog. Kogane’s wolf trails behind them. Music blasts in Ryan’s ears, leaving him blissfully unaware of what Kogane and Shirogane are saying. He can only see the results. Shirogane turns red and Kogane sprints away, laughing. Shirogane tries to chase after him but the wolf teleports Kogane away, leaving a flustered Shirogane behind. He notices Ryan and sputters something. An apology? Ryan can’t tell. He just nods and jogs on, lamenting that he now has to find a new jogging route.

Unfortunately, he can’t find a new sauna. There’s only one on Garrison property and when he walks into it one day he almost immediately walks out. Kogane and Shirogane are alone, lacking the respectful distance expected for two men alone in a sauna, and he just knows they’re going to do Something even with him Right There. But Ryan decides to give them the benefit of the doubt and gives them a grunt in greeting before sitting as far away as possible without looking like he’s trying to avoid them. He likes them, honestly. They’re good people. They’re just embarrassing.

It’s blissfully silent for the first few minutes and Ryan starts to believe things will go differently this time. Maybe the heat of the sauna is tiring them out.

Shirogane makes a sound that is utterly meaningless to Ryan but works as a distress signal for Kogane. He’s not quite hovering over Shirogane, but it’s close enough.

“I’m fine,” Shirogane says.

“Don’t.”

They have a silent conversation which Ryan normally considers to be the best kind of conversation but somehow even that seems distractingly loud in the small space.

There’s a vulnerability to Shirogane that Ryan isn’t used to seeing. His right arm is missing and the normally glowing socket is powered down, but that’s not the full reason for it. Kogane is tearing down his walls and Shirogane is letting him.

“My shoulder’s a bit sore, around the connector. It’s not a big deal.” 

“Okay,” Kogane says.

Ryan tries to stoically stare at the wall as Kogane gets up to sit on the step behind Shirogane. He recites a passage from his flight manual when Shirogane leans back into Kogane. He wonders what he should get his niece for her birthday when Kogane starts massaging Shirogane’s shoulders. Maybe a cool rock from space? Kids liked that sort of thing, right?

Shirogane closes his eyes and makes a sound too close to a moan.

Ryan admits defeat and abandons the sauna.

Ryan finds himself suddenly more social than he’s ever been, hanging out in the mess hall, spending time with Griffin, going into town, anything to avoid bumping into his commanding officer and Voltron’s leader.

He can only take so much before he cracks. That’s why he finds himself on the Garrison roof one night, finally alone in peace and quiet.

It doesn’t last.

He hears a door open and he just knows it’s Shirogane and Kogane. Secluded rooftop at night? Of course, he isn’t safe from them here.

“I know it’s not as clear as the desert,” says Kogane.

“It’s perfect,” says Shirogane, impressed.

Ryan can’t see them. He's hidden away behind a solar panel. He could say hi, let them know they’re not alone, but instead he stares up at the stars. He doesn’t have the energy for this right now. As long as they don’t see him he doesn’t have to talk to them and that’s what he needs right now.

“How did you know about this place?” Shirogane is using his excited voice. It’s the voice he uses when he discovers a new thing about the Atlas.

“I used to sneak up here after you left for Kerberos. I’d try to figure out where your shuttle was,” Kogane says.

“Oh.”

He hears them settle down. He peaks at them from behind the solar panel. Kogane is nestled between Shirogane’s legs. There’s no way he can sneak past them to the door without being seen. He’s stuck for the time being.

“It should being starting soon,” says Kogane.

Ryan doesn’t have to wonder long what he means. Lights streak across the sky. A meteor shower.

All three of them watch in quiet wonder. They’re all space nerds here. Even Ryan.

“I never thought I’d get to see this view again,” Shirogane says softly. “It’s funny, even after all that time in space, there’s still something special about the view from Earth. It’s what makes it feel like home.”

Ryan thinks about how much Earth has changed in the past four years. Entire cities have been destroyed. Monuments that had stood for millenia are gone. What’s being built out of the wreckage is nothing like before. Soon the only parts of Earth that will be recognizable are the parts civilization has left untouched. The stars above them though, are a constant.

“I know what you mean. Earth doesn’t feel like home to me. It never did. But this view does.” There’s a cheekiness to his voice; he’s not talking about the sky.

“Keith,” Shirogane warns.

“What?” Kogane asks in mock innocence.

“We’re on the roof. At the Garrison. Outside.” Ryan tries not to notice how Shirogane’s voice grows strained as he talks.

“So?”

The next few moments are the longest of Ryan’s life. There’s the rustling of clothing and  _something_ is unzipped, followed by a sharp intake of breath from Shirogane. Kogane hums and smacks his lips.

Oh no. This is not happening. Not on his watch.

Ryan clears his throat to signal his presence. Nothing happens. Or rather, something continues to happen that Ryan would very much like to not hear. He tries coughing next. He thinks he’s a pretty loud cougher. Unfortunately, Shirogane and Kogane don’t agree.

“Hey,” Ryan practically shouts, “it’s me. Kinkade. Up here on the roof.” There’s a yelp, and what sounds like Shirogane pulling Kogane off of him. “Behind a solar panel, so I can’t see you, but I certainly can hear you.” Clothing is zipped back up. “Let me know when you’re decent.”

“We’re good, everything’s good!” says Shirogane.

Ryan gets up and stretches. His legs are sore from sitting so long.

“Uh, how long have you been there?” Shirogane asks, his embarrassment obvious. Kogane, meanwhile, is perfectly composed and unreadable. It almost makes Ryan doubt what he’s heard, that maybe his imagination ran wild, but Kogane’s lips are shiny and his hair is tucked behind his ears, and all doubt vanishes.

“Sorry, I fell asleep up here,” Ryan lies smoothly. He doesn’t feel like letting them know he’s perfectly okay with eavesdropping on intimate conversations since they keep happening around him anyway, but he does have to draw the line at listening to a blowjob. Everyone has their limits.

“Oh. You missed the meteor shower.” Shirogane sounds genuinely remorseful. It’s terribly endearing and makes Ryan forgive him for letting Kogane have his way with him on a public rooftop.

“That’s too bad,” says Ryan

“Maybe next time,” Shirogane offers.

“Maybe. Well, it was nice seeing you two. Bye.”

It’s not his smoothest exit but it gets him out of there before Kogane loses his patience and pulls Shirogane’s pants off and that’s all that matters.

 

ix.

Nadia has now had seven separate confirmations that Captain Shirogane and Kogane are in fact, an item. They are, in the words of Kinkade, “definitely fucking.”

The paladins and MFE pilots are currently in what passes for a lounge on Atlas. They have a little downtime before the trip back to Earth. Captain Shirogane and Kogane are huddled together, looking over a map of pirate sightings. She knows space pirates are kind of a big problem for the coalition, attacking supply routes and stealing valuable resources, but whenever she thinks about them she gets a little excited. If she wasn’t a dedicated member of the coalition, she would totally be a space pirate.

Kogane leans into Shirogane to point at something on the map. Instead of looking at where he’s pointing, Shirogane stares at Kogane’s profile. Kogane is a very pretty man, it’s true. Long eyelashes, unusual blue-violet eyes, a strong yet delicate profile, long silky black hair—she’s not even attracted to him and she can see his appeal. Still, Shirogane’s staring is a bit much.

“They're so obvious. Who do they think they're fooling?” Lance grumbles. No one points out that until recently, he wasn't even aware that Kogane was attracted to men.

Shirogane’s hand brushes against Kogane’s when he reaches for the spot Kogane is pointing at to zoom in on the screen. There’s absolutely no reason Kogane couldn’t zoom in on it himself.

“Do you think we should let them know—that we know?” asks Hunk.

Kogane points to something on the far side of the screen. He drapes himself over Shirogane instead of getting up and walking to the other side.

“What if it makes it worse? What if this is them trying to be discreet?” Pidge asks.

Shirogane’s prosthetic hand grabs Kogane by the waist and maneuvers him out of the way.

“Well, it's not working,” Griffin says. “There’s nothing discreet about them.”

Nadia attempts to come to their defense. “They’re sort of trying?”

It’s ruined when they stand face to face—the prosthetic arm still on Kogane’s waist—with matching soft smiles.

“No, they’re really not,” says Griffin.

Shirogane’s prosthetic wanders to the small of Kogane’s back.

“I really hate that hand,” Lance says.

“Perhaps we should say something,” chimes in Allura. “It might make them more… self-aware.”

“Or it might give them the okay to dial up on the PDA even more,” warns Pidge.

Shirogane’s real hand shyly brushes Kogane’s.

“I say we take our chances,” says Hunk as Kogane reaches out to entwine his fingers with Shirogane’s. “This is just getting weird.”

“By my understanding of their personalities, there’s a 40 percent chance they dial things down, a 30 percent chance things stay the same, and a 30 percent chance the intensity of their actions in public increases.”

Kinkade grunts. “Not bad odds.”

Before anyone can stop him, he’s walking up to the pair. The pilots and paladins stare after him with a mixture of panic and hope.

Kinkade doesn’t talk much, but when he does his voice carries.

“Everyone knows you’re banging. Just thought you should know.”

“Oh my god,” someone says. It might have been her.

Captain Shirogane sputters something incomprehensible. Kogane’s face starts to match the red details on his paladin armor.

Shirogane’s sputtering abruptly ends when he notices the Paladins and MFE pilots are staring at them.

Nadia notices that despite their obvious embarrassment at being called out, they’re still holding hands.

“Oh, I really hope we’re in the reality where things don’t get more intense,” Hunk says.

“Cheer up,” says Nadia. “At least now we can tease them.”

Everyone turns to look at her.

“What?” she says, completely baffled by their reaction.

“Huh.” Hunk turns his head to the side.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Lance laments.

Pidge grins wickedly. “You know what, this might actually be fun.”

Allura frowns but says nothing, which is just the same as agreeing with them.

“We shouldn’t embarrass them too much,” says Leifsdottir, “just enough to stop any more… incidents.”

“Rizavi, you’re a genius,” says Griffin, visibly delighted. “Finally, I can get some payback.”

Beside him, Lance nods in agreement.

_Oh dear_ , she thinks. This was why Shirogane and Kogane were trying to keep their relationship a secret.

Oops.

**Author's Note:**

> i s2g the next thing i write will be pure shiro and keith only........... (sure)


End file.
